Sacred music in the works of Russian composers. P.I

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INTRODUCTION

Since ancient times, culture has testified to the spiritual state and consciousness of a person and society. The instability of life, the destruction of moral guidelines, social and environmental disasters create a crisis for humanity. In this regard, the problem of spirituality, the ways of its formation and development, acquires particular relevance. Spirituality is the breath of life, it is the necessary and subtle energy of life.

Sacred music, regardless of religious denomination, is one of the most important components of global culture. In addition, it was in the depths of cult music that the foundations of professional musical art were formed, the formation and development of the technology of composing creativity was carried out, since until the 17th century the Christian Church remained the main center of musical professionalism. If the topic of spiritual music is addressed constantly and consistently, then it organically enters the human sphere of life.

Spiritual music is fraught with enormous potential for influencing a person, and this influence can be controlled, as was the case in all past centuries, when people treated music as a miracle given for communication with the higher spiritual world. And he could communicate with this miracle constantly. Sacred music is the best way to remove bad thoughts and criminal desires. It brings the soul into harmony and attunes it to high motives, disposes it to mutual love and like-mindedness.

Another, no less important impulse for the revival of the traditions of sacred music was, in our opinion, the need to acquire some kind of spiritual support that allows a person to withstand the increasingly dramatic nature of modern life, to preserve its highest values ​​from being absorbed by momentary, often base needs.

The result of all this was the appearance of a large number of works created in various genres, where composers tried to embody their understanding of this type of artistic culture, using new musical and expressive means; a number of composers turned in their creative and philosophical searches to the genres of sacred music.

Sacred music continues to be one of the most important sources of the formation of professional music. This, in turn, led to the inexhaustible interest of composers in this area. The relevance of the stated position is confirmed at the present time, which is manifested in the work of a number of modern composers who create works in the genres of sacred music.

Everything said has determinedthe relevance of this work.

Goal of the work : show the influence of Russian sacred music on the work of Russian composers XIX century.

We have identified the following tasks:

1. Identification of the main historical stages in the development of genres of sacred music;

2. Study of artistic and stylistic features of sacred music in the works of famous composers;

Object Our work is sacred music in the works of Russian composers XIX century. Assubject of researchworks of a number of composers XIX centuries in the genres of sacred music.

CHAPTER 1 THE EMERGENCE AND DEVELOPMENT OF RUSSIAN SACRED MUSIC

1.1 History of the emergence and development of Russian spiritual singing

Russian sacred music is a national culture in the history of Russia. This is an amazing source of wisdom and beauty, combining the timeless ideas of church tenets, highly artistic texts selected by centuries-old criticism, and the musical perfection of classical compositions by Russian masters, famous and anonymous. The essence of sacred music from the very beginning has been rationality, grace-filled meaningfulness and edification. Its fruit was the inspired liturgical poetry of hymns and psalms, songs of praise and thanksgiving, and the art of singing associated with spiritual purity. “The history of liturgical singing begins in heaven, for for the first time a song of praise to God was sung by the disembodied forces of heaven, forming their own invisible and spiritual world, created by the Lord before the visible and essential world.” Heavenly singing, like pre-mundane and eternal singing, has no history in the full sense of the word. Earthly spiritual singing has its own history, which is usually divided into several periods.

At an early stage, church music of Ancient Rus' was a branch of the Byzantine musical tradition. With the annexation of Ukraine, the so-called “Kiev” and “Bulgarian” chants appeared in Russian church music. After the reform of Patriarch Nikon, in connection with the correction of song books based on Greek manuscripts, “Greek” chant appears.

As you know, Russian musical culture is inseparable from the centuries-old singing tradition of the Orthodox Church. Her chants with characteristic melody, asymmetrical rhythms of ancient tunes, rich subvocal polyphony, with a unique originality of harmony are our national wealth and heritage. Church singing has always been the favorite art of Rus', therefore the artistic genius of the Russian people is fully expressed in its melodies. And the very concept of “Music” has been strongly associated with the performance of church prayers for several centuries. The era of Russian Baroque introduced a fundamentally new attitude to sacred music as an object of aesthetic value. Deacon of the Moscow Stretensky Cathedral in the Kremlin Ioannikiy Korenev in the treatise “On Divine Singing” ( XVII century) gives the following justification for the nature of music as an art: “Musikia (i.e. music) creates beauty for the church, adorns divine words with good agreement, rejoices the heart, and brings joy to the soul in the singing of the saints. But I call all singing music, especially angelic singing, which is indescribable, and moreover, then it is called heavenly music.”

The first period of the formation of a professional singing tradition in Rus' was associated with the adoption of Christianity (988) and with its introduction into the church. Service of monophonic male singing. Znamenny chant is the oldest original chant of the Russian Orthodox Church. “Znamenny chant is a collection of tunes of world significance, equal to the great epic tales...”. Unfortunately, the decoding and translation of banners into modern five-line notation is far from perfect, since they, banners, reflected not only pitch and rhythmic relationships. But also the nature of the sound, mood, image and even a certain state of consciousness of the singers.

“The melody of the Znamenny chant was distinguished not only by its depth and spirituality, but also painted certain images and pictures. This is revealed especially in dogmatism, the text of which was compiled by the outstanding Christian songwriter St. John of Damascus.” Second half XVII century was an era of rapid rapid development of polyphony in Russian professional choral music. Under the influence of southern Russian culture, partes polyphony (singing in parts) began to spread in Russia, which replaced znamenny and three-line singing. “The new stylistic direction (Russian Baroque) corresponded to new genres of church music: partes arrangements of Znamenny chant in the choral texture and concert literature of the late 17th and early 18th centuries reveals a high level of professional skill and, in particular, a good command of polyphonic technique. One of the outstanding masters of the partes concert style is Vasily Polikarpovich Titov, his famous concert “Rejoice in God, our Helper” [3, 153].

During the same period, a new type of choral music, cant, was spreading in Russia. The initial cants were created on religious texts and existed in the circles of the clergy. IN XVIII century, their themes and genre focus are expanding; historical, pastoral, satirical, comic and other cants appear, which retained popularity until the beginning XIX century, all cants are presented in three parts with parallel movement of the two upper voices and creating harmonic support for the lower voices.

In the XVII century, a genre of spiritual verse close to Kant spreads across Rus'. This is also a non-ritual song, but based only on figurative and poetic ideas of Christianity. These chants are more lyrical, self-absorbed. Imbued with a prayerful attitude. Their melody is usually close to the Znamenny chant due to the soft rhythm and breadth and length of the chant. One of the best can be called the spiritual verse “On the Descent of the Holy Spirit,” the bright, expressive text of which and the music that is in full accordance with it. Create a soulful musical image.

Russian classical composers XIX - XX centuries, very often in their creativity they turn to Znamenny chant. A certain similarity with the Znamenny chant can be found in A.P. Borodin (“God grant you victory over your enemies,” “Take courage, princess” in the opera “Prince Igor”), N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov (prayer from the 1st scene of the 3rd act in the opera “The Tale of the Invisible City of Kityazh”), M.P. Mussorgsky (choirs of schismatics from the Znamenny chant are widely reproduced. He quoted similar melodies and created his own themes in their spirit. In the beginning XX century S.V. Rachmaninov creates wonderful choral arrangements of ancient cult chants, combined into choral cycles “Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom" and "All-Night Vigil". In the choral cycles, the composer managed to find true and deeply folk techniques and adaptations of ancient Russian melodies.

“Thus, Russian spiritual singing, having begun its development with monophonic singing and having gone through the period of influence of Western polyphony, at the current stage is returning to its origins. But already at a new level, rethinking the spiritual power of ancient chants and enriching them musically, using the accumulated centuries-old experience of creating and arranging church chants, considering them as a musical and artistic phenomenon of national culture.”

Prince V.F. Odoevsky wrote back in the middle of the last century that Russian sacred music is an art “original, unlike any other, having its own special laws, its own distinctive character and high both historical and artistic significance.”

1.2 Formation of the choral concert genre in Russian sacred music

From the end of the 18th to the beginning of the 19th century, a new form of creativity of Russian composers begins to penetrate into the sphere of sacred music - this is a spiritual concert. The genre of choral concert began to develop in Russian sacred music at the beginning of the 18th century in connection with the introduction of partes singing into singing practice, brought to Moscow by Kyiv singers in the middle of the 17th century. “Partes singing, in contrast to the monophonic singing that existed at that time, involved singing in parts (treble, alto, tenor and bass). The new style was quickly picked up and mastered by many Russian and Ukrainian composers, among the best of them Nikolai Diletsky, Nikolai Bavykin and Vasily Titov. They own a large amount of partes music, including the so-called partes concerts, characterized by a huge number of voices (reaching 24 and even 48), juxtaposition of tutti (general singing) and groups of voices, and all kinds of imitation of short melodies.” The partes concert has always been an exclusively vocal a cappella genre. It is characterized by the coloristic richness of choral sound. Composers of the Baroque era learned to achieve great fullness and brightness of colors using a cappella choir. The mature period of development of the new polyphonic style is associated with concerts and “Services of God” (unchanged chants of the liturgy) by N. Diletsky, who proposed a systematic set of rules for creating a polyphonic composition of the partes style in the treatise “The Idea of ​​Musician Grammar” N. Diletsky in his treatise set out the following rules for writing concert: “The verse is lovingly taken to creation, and then reasoned and decomposed - where there will be concerts, that is, voice by voice struggle, and where everything is together. Be in the image, taking this speech to creation - “The Only Begotten Son”, so I decompose: Let the Only Begotten Son be your concert. Voluntary - all together, incarnate - a concert, and the Ever-Virgin Mary - everything. They will be crucified - a concert, by death - death - all, One - a concert, Glorified to the Father by everything, one by others or all together, which will be according to your will. I explain the image for your teaching, which is in agreement with you, which will be in three vowels and others. This is in concerts, watch it." Diletsky understands the term “concert” as a “struggle”, a competition of the ensemble’s voices and as a contrast between episodes performed by a selected group of soloists (“concert”) and the entire tutti choir. Therefore, in partes concerts the number of parts is not regulated. There are concerts of a single, unified structure, but there are also those in which the number of parts and their size changes extremely often, up to 12 and even 22 times, as, for example, in the concert “What is the sweetness of life.” Partes concerts, based on a combination of contrasting episodes, are, according to V. V. Protopopov, one of the types of contrasting-composite forms. The most stable form of partes concertos with an odd number of contrasting sections: 3, 5, 7, three-parts predominates among them. In concerts of the three-part form there is usually repetition, but here it is manifested in general terms: in the relationships of the extreme sections in terms of tonal and metro-rhythmic characteristics, length and texture. In partes concerts the theme is not yet sufficiently formalized, so there is no reprise in its true sense. At the same time, there is a sense of deep integrity in them, based on the intonation community of the primary order. Reprise is a rather rare phenomenon in this era; music in a reprise is repeated only in cases where the text is repeated, i.e., a musical-thematic reprise usually corresponds to a textual one. The form of the “Service of God” cycle, permeated with tonal, intonation and harmonic unity, has become widespread. It became a harbinger of future liturgical cycles: all-night vigil and liturgy.

The choral concert is a multifunctional genre: it is the culmination of the liturgy, the decoration of a state ceremony, and a genre of secular music-making. The text of the concert is a free combination of stanzas from the Psalms of David. For the choral concert, the traditional texts of the psalms served as a common emotional and figurative basis. The initial parts were created under the influence of the text. The first phrases of concerts are the most striking in terms of intonation expressiveness. From the end of the 18th century, the choral concert began to be influenced by the achievements of Western European music. A new trend has emerged in the work of Maxim Berezovsky and, especially, Dmitry Bortnyansky, who improved their composition skills in Italy. The emphasis in the composition of concerts has shifted towards greater harmony of form, the use of polyphonic techniques, and increased contrast between sections. The choral concert is a baroque genre that presupposes pathos, contrasting structure with a predominance of richly developed polyphony. “In Bortnyansky’s work, this ideal is replaced by a style that combines the strict beauty of classicism with the intonational softness of national lyricism.” Historically, the most famous part of his choral legacy has been his concerts. Large-scale and spectacular, they were the first to enter concert and performing practice, eclipsing more modest, one-part liturgical choirs. Multi-movement concerts are characterized by the contrast of parts in tempo, meter (even - odd), texture (chord - polyphonic), and tonal ratio (usual dominant or mediant). All these features, combined with the intonation structure typical of homophonic-harmonic thinking, suggest the similarity of Bortnyansky’s concert cycle with the sonata-symphonic one. “Having become in 1796 the manager of the choir of the Court Singing Chapel (since 1763, the name of the choir of sovereign singing clerks transferred to St. Petersburg in 1703), and in 1801 its director, Bortnyansky devoted himself entirely to working with singers and creating a choral music; his activities led to the flourishing of the choir." Along with Bortnyansky at the end. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, major masters worked in the field of church music - S.A. Degtyarev (1766-1813), L.S. Gurilev (1770-1844), A.L. Wedel (1772-1808); with a bright Ukrainian coloring of music, consistent with the norms of classicism, S.I. Davydov (1777-1825). Despite the decree of the Holy Synod of 1797, which prohibited the performance of choral concerts at the liturgy, Bortnyansky and his younger contemporaries continued to work in this genre. In church works of that time, the influence of opera, instrumental and romance music increased, and a desire for integrity and diversity of compositional solutions was manifested. The next stage in the history of the genre of spiritual choral concert was inextricably linked with the flowering of the brilliant art of the Synodal Choir and the emergence at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries of a new Russian school of composers of church music. In the works of A. Arkhangelsky, A. Grechaninov, M. Ippolitov-Ivanov, Viktor Kalinnikov, A. Kastalsky, A. Nikolsky, Yu. Sakhnovsky, P. Chesnokov and many other authors, the desire to identify the indigenous traditions of Russian spiritual and musical creativity was combined with using all known means of musical language in his compositions. Russian spiritual choral concert “a deeply rooted phenomenon that arose not spontaneously, but through the interaction of many processes of religious and secular life.” Considering the evolution of the genre from a historical perspective, it can be noted that the spiritual concert was “open” to new trends in art, especially at turning points in the history of Russia, therefore it is always modern and in demand in society. “As the centuries-old history of Russian choral music shows, the concert is for it as paramount, the leading genre (in terms of the importance of the artistic concepts contained) as for instrumental music - a symphony, for theatrical music - opera, etc.” [ 2 , 265]. The active creative search of composers and the intensive evolution of the spiritual concert in the last two decades indicate that the artistic and liturgical potential of the genre has not yet been exhausted. Let us recall that the spiritual concert passed in its historical evolution through several successive stylistic formations: from the Baroque partes (late 17th - early 18th centuries), through the classical concert (late 18th - early 19th centuries), late romantic (late 19th - early 20th centuries) and, finally, to the modern (late 20th and early 21st centuries). The partes concert appears as the beginning of the evolution of the genre, the classical as a formed genre archetype, with clearly developed genre features, the late romantic one - as the beginning of the transformation of the genre due to changes in its artistic side and the gradual division into two types - temple and extra-temple, modern as a complete change in the genre structures, the formation of a new style and genre concept. A peculiar pattern can be traced in the evolution of the genre. If you pay attention to the historical periodization, you can clearly see that the spiritual concert developed discretely, that is, in peculiar bright “flares”. Then, around the middle of each century, the spiritual concert fell into a period of inertia. During such periods, most likely, there was a comprehension of the accumulated experience in this genre and after a certain period of time it, like a “phoenix from the ashes,” was reborn with extraordinary force and in a completely new quality. Modern researchers of the spiritual concert are trying to understand and explain the true reasons for such “nonlinearity” and discontinuity in the development of the genre. Among the main reasons, the following can be identified: the partes concert did not develop due to the fact that the church authorities began to impede innovation, that is, the penetration of elements of secular culture into the spiritual, and “the intonation structure of the concert lagged behind the pace of evolution of the intonation structure of the era.” The classical concert did not receive further bright development due to the cruel government reaction and censorship of the directors of the Court Singing Chapel - a period of “gloomy timelessness”. And finally, the Soviet era was the time of the existence of an atheistic culture that rejected any attempts to create religious music, it can definitely be noted that the evolution of the genre took place in close interaction with the historical, political, and ideological situation in Russia. The impetus for intensive development has always been intense periods in the history of our country, marked by significant shifts in social and cultural life and the formation of new criteria, new trends in art. Developing discretely, this universal genre of choral music is revived in every era in a completely new quality, but at the same time maintains its traditions and continuity in the development of Russian choral art.

CHAPTER 2 WORKS OF SACRED MUSIC IN THE WORK OF RUSSIAN COMPOSERS XIX CENTURY

2.1 Sacred music of N. A. Rimsky Korsakov

Spiritual and musical compositions of N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov remarkable contribution of the great composer to Orthodox church singing. The time of their creation - the 80s of the 19th century - marked the beginning of a new stage in the history of Russian sacred music. During this period, P. I. Tchaikovsky and S. I. Taneyev also turned to composing church chants. Russian classical composers managed to introduce a national element into church singing and raise its artistic level. Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) grew up in a deeply religious family. The composer recalled that his father Andrei Petrovich “read the Gospel daily and various books of spiritual and moral content, from which he constantly made numerous extracts.

His religiosity was extremely pure, without the slightest shade of hypocrisy. He went to church (to a large monastery) only on holidays; but in the evenings and mornings at home he prayed for a long time. He was an extremely meek and truthful man." [ 14, 14 ] . For Sofia Vasilievna’s mother, “religion has always been a need of the soul. The religious idea had artistic embodiment for her in the sacraments and rituals of the Orthodox Church." Echoes of the spiritual and musical impressions of childhood and adolescence were reflected in the works of N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov.

Let's give just a few examples. The finale of one of the early works of a string quartet on Russian themes (1879) was called “In the Monastery”. In it, Rimsky-Korsakov used “a church theme, usually sung at prayer services (“Reverend Father, Name, pray to God for us”), in an imitation style.” Subsequently, this theme in a transformed form was used in “Sadko”, in the scene of the appearance of the Elder (Nicholas the Pleasant), interrupting the feast of the Sea King. According to V.V. Yastrebtsev, Rimsky-Korsakov derived the theme of Ivan the Terrible from “The Woman of Pskov” “from the singing of the monks in the Tikhvin Mother of God Monastery and from Znamenny chant in general.” The orchestral prelude “Above the Grave” in memory of M.P. Belyaev (1904) was written on “funeral themes from Everyday Life with imitation of the monastic funeral bell, which I remembered as a child in Tikhvin.” The Sunday overture on themes from Daily Life, “Bright Holiday,” is based on Easter melodies. Rimsky-Korsakov spoke in detail about his plan in “The Chronicle of My Musical Life.”

The alternation of the themes “Let God rise again” and “An angel crying” in the introduction seemed to the composer “as if a prophecy of ancient Isaiah about the resurrection of Christ. The gloomy colors of the Andante lugubre seemed to depict the holy tomb, shining with indescribable light at the moment of the Resurrection, during the transition to the Allegro overture. The beginning of the Allegro “let those who hate flee from His face” led to the festive mood of the Orthodox church service at Christ's Matins; the solemn trumpet voice of the Archangel was replaced by the sound reproduction of a joyful, almost dance-like bell ringing, alternating either with a fast deacon's reading or with the conventional chanting of the priest reading the gospel gospel.

The everyday theme “Christ is risen,” representing, as it were, a side part of the overture, appeared amidst the sound of trumpets and the ringing of bells...” N. F. Findeisen considered “Bright Holiday” “a preliminary (albeit brilliant) study for the opera “The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia”, where the church and folk are surprisingly harmoniously intertwined, the intonations of ancient chants, especially Znamenny, merge with spiritual melodies poems, folk songs. With the accession of Alexander III to the throne, the leadership of the Court Singing Chapel changed, as Rimsky-Korsakov reports in the Chronicle. Count S. D. Sheremetev took the “representative and honorable” position of director, but “in reality the matter rested with the manager of the Capella and his assistant. Sheremetev elected Balakirev as manager, and the latter... not feeling any theoretical and pedagogical ground under him, took me as his assistant, as I had plunged into theoretical and pedagogical activities at the conservatory. In February 1883, I was appointed assistant manager. Court Chapel".

Rimsky-Korsakov notes that “the mysterious thread of such an unexpected appointment was in the hands of T. I. Filippov, who was then the state controller, and Chief Prosecutor Pobedonostsev. Balakirev Filippov gr. Sheremetev the connection between these people was based on religiosity, Orthodoxy and the remnants of Slavophilism.” N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov was familiar with the works of his predecessors. The composer met Razumovsky in May 1883 in Moscow, while staying with the Capella at the coronation of Alexander III.

In one of his letters to his wife, he said: “We visited Priest Razumovsky, an expert and researcher of ancient church music, with Balakirev and Krutikov. He is a very nice old man, and we will go to him again for various advice regarding church melodies; he gave me his book about ancient singing,” but he assessed both directions negatively. He called Bortnyansky’s style “foreign”, and the style of Potulov, Razumovsky, Odoevsky “book-historical”. Nevertheless, the composer applied the main provisions of the strict style in “Singing Ancient Tunes at the All-Night Vigil.”

At the first stage it was necessary to compile a collection of monophonic tunes. Rimsky-Korsakov used singing books published by the Holy Synod, “Guide to the practical study of ancient liturgical singing of the Orthodox Russian Church” by N. M. Potulov (1872). The composer not only immersed himself in the study of ancient chants, but also comprehended the science of church services, read the book by K. T. Nikolsky “A Guide to the Study of the Rules of Worship of the Orthodox Church” (M., 1874) and exclaimed: “The Rules as I now know!” . “Singing at the All-Night Vigil” in one voice was completed on July 5, 1883. N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov created 40 church hymns during the years 1883-1885. 15 of them were published during the composer’s lifetime and made up the first two collections, 25 were published posthumously in the third collection edited by E. S. Azeev.To this collection we also include the two-horn concerto We Praise You God, since it is listed as part of the second collection in its second edition of 1893, although it was published separately (censored July 24, 1893). In the document dated February 9, 1893, transferring the ownership rights to the publication of spiritual and musical works by Rimsky-Korsakov to the Chapel (18, 190-191), as well as in the “List of works of N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov” for 1900, this concert is listed as unpublished.. Rimsky-Korsakov worked most actively and in depth on church hymns in the summer of 1883.

In letters to S.N. Kruglikov, he says: “Of course, I don’t do anything else musical: I’ve become a sexton,” “...secular music now somehow doesn’t suit me, but spiritual music occupies me.” It was probably at this time that the bulk of all the spiritual and musical works of Rimsky-Korsakov were created. Subsequently, his interest in this area of ​​creativity declines. Perhaps this is due to the fact that Balakirev had a negative attitude towards the spiritual compositions of Rimsky-Korsakov (perhaps, with the exception of Cherubim Song No. 1. Probably, Balakirev believed that to create sacred music you need not only professional skill, but special prayerful, even ascetic Lifestyle.

Rimsky-Korsakov felt this: “It seems to me that he has such a thought: no, they say, there cannot be God’s grace in my writings.” One of the last mentions of work on church hymns dates back to January 14, 1884: “I’m not writing anything. “I gave up “Obyhod” a long time ago: the work is already boring and dry, but with Balakirev all hunting will pass.” In a letter to N.I. Kompaneisky dated May 27, 1906, Rimsky-Korsakov called himself a completely retired spiritual writer). 18 out of 40 church chants by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov are actual compositions, and not adaptations of church chants. They make up the entire first collection (“Cherubic Hymn” No. 1 and No. 2, “I Believe”, “The Mercy of the World”, “We Sing to You”, “It is Worthy to Eat”, “Our Father”, “Resurrection Communion”. Works from the first collection, despite the intonational similarity of the melodies, they do not represent a single cycle. But the two chants I Believe and the Grace of the World are perceived as a kind of small cycle. They have a common harmonic sequence based on the alternation of diatonic steps in D minor and A minor. In “I Believe” this sequence repeated three times, in the Grace of the World twice, ending with perfect cadences.

Thus, Rimsky-Korsakov anticipates the idea of ​​musical unification of different parts of the Liturgy, which would be very important for composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The source of innovative harmonic and textural ideas for Rimsky-Korsakov was both the music of Orthodox worship and Russian folk music. The composer was convinced of their musical kinship. It was Rimsky-Korsakov who first clearly identified and emphasized the closeness of the two types of folk art, creating, on the basis of their synthesis, his own style of polyphonic arrangements of ancient chants, which was not similar to the church art of his contemporaries.

2.2 Tchaikovsky and sacred music

The great Russian composers of the 19th century attended church services, and church singing often evoked creative response and inspiration in them. M.A. tried his hand at church songwriting. Balakirev, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, A.K. Lyadov, M.M. Ippolitov-Ivanov and many other outstanding Russian composers. Selected chants from the main Orthodox service Liturgy were written by D.S. Bortnyansky, M.I. Glinka, A.A. Alyabyev and others. But it was P.I. Tchaikovsky undertook the effort to create a complete, complete musical composition, covering all the chants that make up the Liturgy. Tchaikovsky was driven by the desire to bring his contemporary author's church singing creativity into conformity with the ancient traditions of Russian church singing culture. In one of his letters he wrote: “I want to try to do something for church music.

In this regard, the composer has a huge and still barely touched field of activity. “I recognize some merits of Bortnyansky, Berezovsky and others, but to what extent their music is in little harmony with the Byzantine style of architecture and icons, with the entire structure of the Orthodox service!” . This desire resulted in two monumental works: “Liturgy” and “All-Night Vigil”. Tchaikovsky wanted to create compositions that were essentially ecclesiastical in nature, which would be connected both by their structure and traditional sound with Orthodox worship. Addressing his publisher with a request to send books on the history of church music, he wrote that he “needs the entire All-Night Vigil with all the litanies and everything that is sung.”

The richness of church song poetry shocked the composer who took on the liturgical material. “In this ocean of irmos, stichera, sedalnov, katavasiya, theotokos, trinity, troparia, kontakion, exapostilarius, similar, sedate, I am completely lost. And you absolutely don’t understand where, what, how and when!” . P.I. Tchaikovsky also turned directly to ancient Russian music. In the “Vespers” he wrote, many chants are a harmonization of the melodies of different chants. In one of his “Cherubic Songs,” which the composer treasured most of all, he, in his words, “tried to imitate non-notated church singing,” that is, ancient singing, written in a “banner.”

A lot has been written about Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Despite this, some significant aspects of his biography and work remain little known. For example, the spiritual and musical creativity of the composer and his role in the history of church singing. There is no doubt that the musical works of P. I. Tchaikovsky are closely connected with the spiritual image of the composer and his faith. Confirmation of the composer's religiosity was his interest in issues of style, content and performance of church music. Not only an atheist, but also a non-religious person in general, church singing would be completely alien and uninteresting. And Tchaikovsky was keenly interested in the problems of Russian choral church singing. Being a Russian patriotic composer,

Pyotr Ilyich sought to make his contribution to the heritage of national church music, which he himself described as “a huge and still barely touched field of activity.” Tchaikovsky was, in fact, the only one of Russia's creative giants - composers and artists - who, on his own initiative, turned to the field of sacred art before the early 1880s. And he came to this sphere thanks to the general religiously oriented, spiritually focused character of his personality, captured in many personal confessions that have come down to us in his letters and diaries. The significance of the work of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in the history of the development of Russian Orthodox church music can hardly be overestimated. He influenced the process of formation and flourishing of the “new Russian choral school” - a movement that raised the art of composing and performing choral works in Russia at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries to unprecedented heights. P.I. Tchaikovsky played a role in the activities of the Synodal School. To oversee the improvement of the church singing section at the school and to direct the Synodal Choir to “prosper in the spirit of ancient Orthodox church singing,” a Supervisory Council was established, the first composition of which included such luminaries as P. I. Tchaikovsky and Archpriest Dimitry Razumovsky. As a member of the Supervisory Board of the Moscow Synodal School of Church Singing, Tchaikovsky contributed to the appointment of his students - choral conductor V. S. Orlov and composer A. D. Kastalsky - to teaching positions in this educational institution, which, in turn, helped to transform the Synodal School and his choir became the most important center for the preservation and development of church music in Russia over the next decades. Pyotr Ilyich edited for the publishing house P. Jurgenson the complete collection of spiritual choral works by D. S. Bortnyansky.

This work was of great practical importance: it preserved for us all the works of D. S. Bortnyansky in the best edition. Tchaikovsky wrote complete, musically complete cycles for two of the most important services of the Orthodox Church: “Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom" (1878) and "All-Night Vigil" (1882). In addition, he wrote nine separate spiritual choirs and set the Easter text “Angel Crying” to music. Some researchers of the work of P. I. Tchaikovsky believe that his turn to composing spiritual and musical works was accidental. Others attribute this conversion to an imperial order. Indeed, Alexander III favored Tchaikovsky and “had the encouragement and desire” for the composer to write for the Church.

“But no order and no external influence could result in that harmony, in that beauty that was born in Tchaikovsky’s soul. Without a genuine religious feeling, without religious perception and experience of the Vigil and Liturgy, the composer could not have created sacred music. The appearance and then presence of religious, church music in Tchaikovsky’s work for more than ten years (starting from 1878) is no longer a search, it is a personally suffered and found line of spiritual life. Unfortunately, the spiritual and musical creativity of P. I. Tchaikovsky was not appreciated by his contemporaries.” The reaction to his spiritual and musical works was mixed. Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, written by him, became the first spiritual and musical cycle in the history of Russia, performed in an open secular concert, and caused a very heated debate.

Almost twenty years passed before Tchaikovsky's Liturgy was allowed to be performed during a church service. Prejudice against the sacred music of P. I. Tchaikovsky persisted almost until the composer’s death. “Disputes still continue: whether this music is appropriate during worship or its place in spiritual concerts. The religious music that was born in his soul does not convey the full depth of the Vigil and Liturgy, but this is natural, because, apparently, he did not reach the depth of religious experience of the holy creators of the service. The nature of his religious music is called more secular or not deeply spiritual."

Nevertheless, P. I. Tchaikovsky’s contribution to the development of sacred music was noted at the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1917-1918. The spiritual and musical works of P. I. Tchaikovsky have been performed and continue to be performed in our time. Despite the complexity of the performance of the Divine Liturgy and the All-Night Vigil, some elements of these works have taken root in church use (for example, the Trisagion). And on our part, in relation to Tchaikovsky, there should be deep gratitude for everything he left to the Orthodox Church, to the faithful And whose devoted son he was until the last day of his life.

1. The origins of spirituality in the music of S.V. Rachmaninov

Classical Russian music is unique in its spiritual content. It originates from ancient national tunes, woven into the fabric of the Byzantine heritage brought from outside. Sacred music preceded secular music for a long time. She was an integral part of human life. And therefore, the origins of national culture are hidden at the heart of the work of Russian composers. The music of Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninov rightfully belongs to such phenomena. In Russia, other works of Rachmaninov associated with the revival of Russian sacred music are least known. At the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, the national movement “New Russian Revival”, as defined by A. Blok, emerged in Russia.

At that time, interest in the artistic heritage of the Russian Middle Ages (architecture, icons, frescoes) awakened in society; on this wave, many composers turned to ancient Russian music. Rachmaninoff’s choral cycles “Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom” (1910) and “Vespers” (1915) were created in this vein. By the time the “liturgy” was created, Rachmaninov was the author of three piano concertos, three operas and two symphonies. But, according to the composer, he worked on a rare piece with such pleasure.

Based on the traditions of Russian liturgy, Rachmaninov creates a concert work where, unlike the “Vespers”, he practically does not use authentic chants. He boldly combines the intonations of folk and professional art, creating an impressive image of ancient cult singing. In his work, Rachmaninov sought to reflect the spiritual life of Russia in the interconnection of past and present. That’s why he turned to choral works, unique mass performances where it was possible

convey the depth of folk psychology (his cantatas “Spring” and “Bells” are examples of this). S.V. also paid much attention. Rachmaninov church music. In November 1903, the famous church composer A.D. Kastalsky (18561926), presenting S.V. Rachmaninov, the publication of his “Requiem Service” (service with funeral prayers), made the following inscription: “To the deeply respected Sergei Vasilyevich from A. Kastalsky as a sign of reminding him that there is an area in this world where Rachmaninov’s inspirations are patiently but persistently awaited.” And in 1910, Rachmaninov himself wrote to Kastalsky: “Forgive me, for God’s sake, that I decide to bother you. I have a big request to ask you. The point is this: I decided to write “Liturgy”. I would like to ask you to resolve some of my confusion regarding the text. I also really want to ask you to look through it, criticize it, and express your opinion. I decide to bother you, because I believe in you from the bottom of my heart and I will try to follow the same road that you are walking...” Kastalsky in his work dealt primarily with harmonizations of ancient melodies, reviving the ancient Russian musical heritage. Rachmaninov approached the composition of church music as a most difficult creative task, feeling the need to follow certain traditions that had developed in the field of spiritual creativity. Rachmaninov also studied Tchaikovsky’s “Liturgy” as a model. However, unlike Kastalsky, in “Liturgy” Rachmaninov did not take directly ancient chants as a basis. In line with the stricter church singing tradition, Rachmaninov performed in his “All-Night Vigil,” which he wrote five years after the “Liturgy.” Probably, Rachmaninov could repeat the words prefaced by P.I. Tchaikovsky’s edition of his “Vespers” (1882): “I left some of these genuine church melodies untouched, while in others I allowed myself some minor deviations. Thirdly, and finally, in some places he completely deviated from the exact sequence of tunes, surrendering to the attraction of his own musical feelings.” The pinnacle of Rachmaninov’s spiritual creativity was the “Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom” and “All-Night Vigil.” The composer carried his love for church singing throughout his life. Composing the Liturgy had been his long-time dream. “I have been thinking about the Liturgy for a long time and have been striving for it for a long time. I started working on it somehow by accident and was immediately carried away. And then very soon he finished. I haven’t written… anything with such pleasure for a long time,” he said in letters to friends. In the Liturgy, Rachmaninov uses melodies of folklore, znamenny singing and imitation of bell ringing, which gives the music a truly national character. In this work, the composer gives new life to the choral genres of Russian sacred music. With his creativity he opposes the lack of spirituality of modernism emerging from the West. The “All-Night Vigil,” in contrast to the Liturgy filled with joy and jubilation, has a lyrical, enlightened character.

CONCLUSION

During the years of persecution of Orthodox culture, the sacred works of the great Russian composers were almost never performed by secular choirs. A.V. Lunacharsky, being the People's Commissar of Education, took the initiative to ban Soviet opera singers from singing in church. But this initiative did not receive the status of an official ban. The secrecy of the ban sometimes allowed secular performers to sing in the church choir. Such great singers as F.I. Shalyapin and I.S. Kozlovsky in this case served as a “negative” example: they did not stop singing in the temple.

Often, secular choral groups could not perform church compositions due to direct ideological prohibitions. Sometimes they sang a melody without words or substituted other words. But in the second half of X I In the 10th century, spiritual works of great Russian composers gradually began to be performed in their authentic form. And by the end of the century it was already difficult to find a secular choral group in Russia that would not try their hand at performing church music. The revival of parishes and monasteries, the lifting of unspoken bans on the participation of secular singers in church singing, the publication of gramophone records and cassettes with church chants, experiments in restoring ancient Russian melodies all this led to the fact that of all types of church art, it was church singing that gained recognition at the end of the 10th century. I X century greatest development.

Sacred music is the ancestor of all Russian musical creativity. At all times, it has been the sphere of application of the creative forces of outstanding Russian composers. The motives for which they turned to spiritual genres were different - from internal religious attitudes to aesthetic preferences. The music of the Russian Orthodox Church is the source of musical classics right up to the present day. It finds its natural refraction in the work of composers working in the genres of spiritual and musical compositions. But due to its deep roots, this musical plane, often perceived as folklore, is included by composers in works of secular musical genres.

Russian composers brought original techniques of musical writing, unique to Russia, to world culture. Their artistic method is based on ancient church genres, enriched with the intonations of Russian folklore and the achievements of professional composing. These traditions are continued by modern domestic composers.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL LIST

1. Asafiev B. Russian music XIX and early XX centuries. L.; 1979.

2. Gardner I. A. Liturgical singing of the Russian Orthodox Church. Story. Volume 2. Sergiev Posad, 1998.

3. Golitsyn N. S. The modern question of the transformation of church singing in Russia. St. Petersburg, 1884.

4. Grigoriev S. S. Theoretical course of harmony. M., 1981.

5. Karasev P. A. Conversations with N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov // Russian musical newspaper. 1908. No. 49.

6. Kovalev K.P. Bortnyansky. m.; 1984.

7. Kompaneisky N.I. About the style of church chants // Russian musical newspaper. 1901. No. 38.

8. Konisskaya L.M. Tchaikovsky in St. Petersburg. L-d, 1976

9. On the collection of programs for concerts of the Synodal Choir since 1894 (RGALI, f. 662, op. 1, no. 4).

10. Odoevsky V.F. Essays. In 2 volumes M.; Artist lit. 1981.

11. Preobrazhensky A.V. Cult music in Russia. L., 1924.

12. Pribegina G.A. P.I. Tchaikovsky M.; Music 1982.

13. Rakhmanova M. P. Sacred music of N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov // Musical Academy. 1994. No. 2.

14. Rakhmanova M. P. N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov. M., 1995.

15. Rimsky-Korsakov A. N. N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov. Life and art. Vol. 1. M., 1933.

16. Rimsky-Korsakov N. A. Selected letters to N. N. Rimskaya-Korsakova. T. 2: Publications and memories // Musical heritage: Rimsky-Korsakov. M., 1954.

17. Rimsky-Korsakov N. A. Chronicle of my musical life // Complete works: Lit. Works and correspondence. T. 1. M., 1955.

18. Rimsky-Korsakov N. A. Complete works: Lit. works and correspondence. T. 5. M., 1963.

19. Solopova O.I. Sergei Vasilyevich Rahmaninov. M.; 1983.

20. Trifonova T.V. Choral church singing as one of the types of musical arrangement of Orthodox worship: method. Job/

21. Tchaikovsky P. I. Complete works: Lit. works and correspondence. T. 10. M., 1966.

22. Tchaikovsky P.I. About Russia and Russian culture. Complete collection of works. M.; 1966.t 11

23. Cheshikhin V. E. N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov. Collection of spiritual and musical works and transcriptions // Russian Musical Newspaper. 1916. Bibliographic sheet No. 2.

24. Yastrebtsev V.V. List of works by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov // Russian musical newspaper. 1900. No. 51.

At the turn of the XIX - XX centuries. In all spheres of the spiritual life of society, the desire to search for national roots has intensified. Russian secular music, which experienced the culmination of national original expression in the brilliant work of M. P. Mussorgsky, increasingly entered the mainstream of stylized-academic art, for example, in the work of composers of the “Belyaev circle”. The idea of ​​a new wave of “Russification” of music matured in the depths of not secular, but religious-ecclesiastical art, which had long been in need of a radical update.

By the beginning of the century, a group of composers had formed who formed the school of the New Direction. In Moscow, at the Synodal School of Singing, Kastalsky, Grechaninov, Chesnokov, Tolstyakov, Shvedov rallied around Smolensky. In St. Petersburg, this direction is represented by the names of Panchenko, Kompaneisky, Lisitsyn, Arkhangelsky. The main activity of composers was in the development of Znamenny chant. All of them were powerfully influenced by the views of Smolensky, who became the true ideologist of the New Direction in Russian sacred music of modern times and to whom Rachmaninov dedicated his brilliant Vigil.

Smolensky, thanks to his work with primary sources and such deep penetration into the layers of ancient Russian znamenny singing, observing the structural features, melody, and rhythm of ancient chants, came to the reasonable conclusion that the Western European basis is not suitable for framing these tunes, that the major-minor system comes into conflict with all the structure of these tunes.

Smolensky's main principle is the rejection of European forms of harmony and counterpoint. He not only declared the enormous significance and artistic value of Znamenny chant, but also proposed, through deep penetration into its original features, to create new Russian harmony and counterpoint for the treatment of ancient everyday melodies. Smolensky considered previous adaptations of church melodies to be “the wandering of Russian singing thought along foreign paths.”

With the dawn of classical Russian music, cult musical art in Russia faded into the background. Composers who were completely focused on sacred music revealed a limited artistic horizon, often an artisanal approach to creative tasks. Dependence on church authorities and on established “rules” for composing spiritual chants had a negative impact. The greatest classical masters only sporadically and not all of them (Glinka, Balakirev, Rimsky-Korsakov) created “arrangements” (harmonizations) of everyday tunes - usually on duty, working in the Court Singing Chapel. What stood out was mainly the work of Tchaikovsky, who set as his goal to overcome the cliches of spiritual choral writing and created in the second half of the century a work of great artistic merit - the “Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom” and the much more modest score of the “All-Night Vigil”. The composer consciously did not go beyond the boundaries of the so-called “strict style”, only occasionally deviating from it. What is significant, he did not seek to rely on the stylistics of ancient Russian art, did not use the language of folk song (the latter is felt in the spiritual compositions of Rimsky-Korsakov).

At the same time, an orientation towards this style can be found in the genres of secular music - operatic and instrumental compositions by Mussorgsky (“Boris Godunov” and “Khovanshchina”, the finale of “Pictures at an Exhibition”), Rimsky-Korsakov (“Pskov Woman”, “Sadko” , “Saltan” and “Kitezh”, musical film “Bright Holiday”). There are examples of turning to everyday themes in Tchaikovsky (the backstage chorus in The Queen of Spades), Taneyev (cantata John of Damascus) and Arensky (Second Quartet).

In the 1890s, choral religious music again entered a period of growth and reached significant heights with Kastalsky, Lyadov, Chesnokov, and especially with Rachmaninov. The activities of these masters (with the exception of Lyadov), together with the performing arts of outstanding choirs, conductors, and music scientists, concentrated in Moscow, constituted the so-called “Moscow school” of choral sacred music of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Representatives of this artistic movement sought to update the choral genre with the traditions of the past by deepening and strengthening the folklore principle in this area. The largest one here was Rachmaninov’s “All Night Vigil.”

Choral works a cappella, which belong to the field of religious art, do not occupy a prominent place in the work of Russian classical composers. Until relatively recently, Rachmaninov’s sacred music was also viewed from this angle. Meanwhile, this part of the composer’s heritage is connected with the historically deep layers of Russian musical culture. Old Russian singing art, together with folklore, was, according to Rachmaninov, the most important source and support of Russian musical culture as a whole, the focus of the historical memory of the people, their artistic feeling and aesthetic consciousness. Hence their wide national significance.

Rachmaninov's inclination towards sacred music was strengthened by the influence of major authorities - S. V. Smolensky (director of the Synodal School), who taught a course on the history of Russian church music at the Moscow Conservatory and the famous composer and conductor of the Synodal Choir A. D. Kastalsky, the author of outstanding works on folk songwriting . Undoubtedly, the choral religious works of this master themselves had a decisive influence on Rachmaninov. “From the art of Kastalsky,” emphasized B.V. Asafiev, Rachmaninov’s magnificent cyclic choral compositions (“Liturgy” and, especially, “Vespers”) grew... a melodious polyphonic style was born, in which the rich melodic heritage of the past gave new lush shoots"

S. V. Rachmaninov also created in the field of spiritual and choral music of the Orthodox tradition a cappella. The composer, turning to the revival of national musical traditions, looked for something original and truly folk in the field of Orthodox singing. Attempts to get as close as possible to the folk spirit contributed to the birth in his work of a new artistic language, new means and forms of expression, “colored by the unique Rachmaninov style.” He interpreted spiritual compositions in the spirit of romanticism. The religious principle appeared in an aestheticized concert form. The religious, ancient, archaic appear in him in the form of a national, folk one.

It is known that he had the idea for this work already in the early 1900s. No less important were the impressions of childhood - from northern Russian nature, from ancient Novgorod with its cathedrals, icons and frescoes, bell ringing, and church singing. And the family environment of his childhood Novgorod years, where the original traditions of Russian life and their high spirituality were preserved, nourished the composer’s artistic nature and his self-awareness as a Russian person.

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Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography

Kemerovo State University of Culture and Arts

Science Library

Sacred music in creativity

Russian composers

Bibliography

Kemerovo

Editorial Board: Kashina V.P. Computer design: Sergeev A.V. Responsible for the release: Gavrilova V.A. Sacred music in the works of Russian composers: bibliographic list / Comp. V.P. Kashina. – Kemerovo: NB KemGUKI. – 19 p.

Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………….. 4 From the compilers ……………………………………………………… ……... 5 General part ……………………………………………………………….. 7 Personnel ………………………………………… ……………………… 8

Introduction

Sacred music is the ancestor of all Russian musical creativity. At all times, it has been the sphere of application of the creative forces of outstanding Russian composers. The motives for which they turned to spiritual genres were different - from internal religious attitudes to aesthetic preferences. The music of the Russian Orthodox Church is the source of musical classics right up to the present day. It finds its natural refraction in the work of composers working in the genres of spiritual and musical compositions. But due to its deep roots, this musical plane, often perceived as folklore, is included by composers in works of secular musical genres. Russian composers brought original techniques of musical writing, unique to Russia, to world culture. Their artistic method is based on ancient church genres, enriched with the intonations of Russian folklore and the achievements of professional composing. These traditions are continued by modern domestic composers. The purpose of the bibliographic list “Sacred Music in the Works of Russian Composers” is to facilitate the search for sources of information about the life and work of composers who created in the genre of sacred music.

From compilers

The presented bibliographic list is devoted to works written both in the genre of sacred music and other genres written on spiritual subjects. The bibliographic list “Sacred Music in the Works of Russian Composers” consists of two parts. The general part includes works characterizing specific forms and genres of church music. The second part is dedicated to the personalities of composers (both famous and undeservedly forgotten) who worked in the genre of sacred music. Within sections and subsections, the material is arranged in alphabetical order. Bibliographic characteristics of documents are carried out in accordance with GOST 7.1-2003 “Bibliographic record. Bibliographic description. General requirements and rules of compilation." Abbreviations of words generally correspond to GOST 7.12-93 “Bibliographic record. Abbreviations of words in Russian. General requirements and rules "Works related to various parts are duplicated by indicating their serial number at the end of the corresponding part of the list. The bibliographic list is compiled based on the material of the Music Department of the Scientific Library of KemGUKI, and includes mainly articles from the magazines "Music Academy", "Meeting" , “Ancient Music”. The personalities of composers, whose work is poorly covered in periodicals, are presented by articles from fundamental research on the history of Russian music. The publication is intended for students, teachers of the faculty of musical art and all those who are interested in the history of Russian sacred music. The bibliographic list will provide assistance for independent work of students in the training courses “History of Russian Music”, “History of Russian Music of the 20th Century”, “History of Russian Choral Music”, “History of Russian Choral Music of the 20th Century” and in classes in the specialty.

A COMMON PART

Gulyanitskaya N. Notes on the stylistics of modern spiritual and musical compositions [Text] /N. Gulyanitskaya // Music. academy. – 1993. - No. 4. – P. 7-13; 1994. - No. 1. - P. 18-25 Guryeva N. Polyphonic liturgy of the end of the 17th century and its authors [Text] /N. Guryeva // Ancient music. – 2000. - No. 3. – P. 8-10. Denisov N. New sphere of creativity [Text] /N. Denisov // Music. academy. – 1998. - No. 3-4. – pp. 42-45. Koshmina I.V. Russian sacred music [Text]: in 2 books / I.V. Koshmina - M.: Vlados, 2001. Levashev E. From Glinka to Rachmaninov (Sacred Music of the Fatherland) [Text] / E. Levashev // Music. academy. – 1992. – No. 2. – P. 2-13. Paisov Yu. Resurrection of the ideal (Chants of the saints in modern music of Russia) [Text] / Yu. Paisov // Music. academy. – 1993. – No. 4. – P. 152-154. Plotnikova N. Sing to our God (“The Cherubic Song”) [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. - 1998. - No. 3. – P. 26-27. Protopopov V. Music of the Russian liturgy (Problems of cyclicity) [Text] / V. Protopopov // Music. academy. – 1997. - No. 1. – P. 30-37. Protopopov V. Music of the opening psalm at the All-Night Vigil [Text] / V. Protopopov // Music. academy. – 1999. - No. 1. – P. 1-10. Rapatskaya L.A. History of Russian music: from Ancient Rus' to the “Silver Age” [Text] / L.A. Rapatskaya. – M.: Vlados, 2001. – 384 p. Russian spiritual music of the 20th century [Text] // History of modern domestic music: in 3 issues - M., 2001. - Vol. 3. – pp. 398-452. Russian music at school [Text]: methodological essays. – M.: Miros, 1998. – 256 p. Umnova I.G. Refraction of the traditions of sacred music in the work of modern domestic composers [Text] / I.G. Umnova // Orthodoxy - Culture - Education - Kemerovo: materials from the interregion. scientific-practical conf. - Kemerovo: Kemerovo. state Academy of Culture and Arts, 2002. – pp. 392-388.

Personalities

V.A. Agafonnikov (b. 1936)

Plotnikova N. Bright national style [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. – 2001. - No. 12. – S.....; 2002. - No. 1. – P. 19-21.

A.V. Alexandrov (1883-1946)

Plotnikova N. Hymn to the Russian soul [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. – 2003. - No. 7. – P. 24-25.

M.V. Antsev (1865-1945)

Plotnikova N. From textbook to liturgy [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. – 2002. - No. 7. – P. 24-25.

A.S. Arensky (1861-1906)

Music as bright as a stream [Text] // Meeting. – 2002. - No. 5. – P. 17-18.

V.P. Artemov (b. 1940)

Artemov V. Find living value [Text] / V. Artemov // Music. academy. – 1996. – No. 1. -S. 72-74.

A.A. Arkhangelsky (1846-1924)

Plotnikova N. The Great Lord of Harmony [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. – 1999. – No. 1-2.- P.27-28. Obolensky P. Chronicle of a musical life [Text] / P. Obolensky // Music. academy. – 1994. - No. 1. – P. 95-98.

A.M. Arkhangelsky (1863-1915)

Plotnikova N. To native shores [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. – 2002. - No. 2. – P. 19-20.

A.M. Astafiev (1873-1956)

Plotnikova N. And Regent and teacher [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. – 2001. - No. 11. – P. 25-27.

ON THE. Afanasyev (1821-1898)

Plotnikova N. Belongs to Russia [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. – 1999. - No. 4. – P. 23-24.

N.I. Bakhmetyev (1807-1891)

Plotnikova N. Landowner and musician [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. – 2001. - No. 10. – P. 23-25.

V.D. Benevsky (1864-1930)

Plotnikova N. Conductor, teacher, composer [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. – 2002. - No. 11. - P. 22-24.

M.S. Berezovsky (1745-1777)

M.S. Berezovsky [Text] // History of Russian music: in 3 issues. /ed. A. Kandinsky. – M., 1999. – Issue. 1. – pp. 206-210. Rytsareva M. Composer M. S. Berezovsky [Text] / M. Rytsareva. – L.: Music, 1982. – 142 p.

See also No. 10

D.S. Bortnyansky (1751-1825)

D.S. Bortnyansky [Text] // History of Russian music: in 3rd issue. // edited by A. Kandinsky. - M., 1999.- Issue 1. - pp. 210-225. Rytsareva M. Composer D.S. Bortnyansky [Text] / M. Rytsareva. – L.: Music, 1979. - 255 p.

See also No. 10

Yu.M. Butsko (b. 1938)

Butsko Yu. Give Russia all my work, my life [Text] /Yu.Butsko // Music. life. – 1999. - No. 4. – pp. 11-13. Dubinets E. Signs of the style of Yuri Butsko (Znamenny chant in the twentieth century) [Text] / E. Dubinets // Music. academy. – 1993. - No. 1. - P. 49-52. Karaban M. Multidimensionality of modal space and principles of fuzzy logic [Text] / M. Karaban // Music. academy. – 2001. - No. 4. – P. 49-54.

A.E. Varlamov (1801-1848)

Plotnikova N. Music – you need a soul [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. – 2003. -No. 8. - P.25-27.

A.N. Verstovsky (1799-1862)

Plotnikova N. The mighty power of feelings [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. – 2003. – No. 12. – P. 29-30.

M.A. Vinogradov (1809-1888)

Plotnikova N. A musician has no leisure [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. – 2004. - No. 2. – P. 16-17.

P.M. Vorotnikov (1810-1876)

Plotnikova N. In the traditions of the old school [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. – 2002. - No. 9. – P. 19-21.

V.A. Gavrilin (1939-1999)

Meshcheryakova N. “John of Damascus” by Taneyev and “Chimes”: dialogue at a distance of a century [Text] / N. Meshcheryakova // Music. academy. – 2000. - No. 1. – P. 190-195. Tevosyan A. Concert in three parts in memory of V. Gavrilin [Text] / A. Tevosyan // Music. academy. – 2000. - No. 1. – P. 184-190.

M.I. Glinka (1804-1857)

Kompaneisky N. The influence of Glinka’s works on church music [Text] / N. Kompaneisky // Russian musical newspaper. – 2004. - No. 6. – P. 8. Plotnikova N. Enter the courtyard of Christ [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. – 2004. - No. 5. – P. 15-17. Plotnikova N. “Acquire a peaceful spirit” [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. – 2001. - No. 4. – P. 21-23.

See also No. 5

N.S. Golovanov (1891-1953)

Luzanova A. Prayer response [Text] / A. Luzanova // Meeting. – 2002. - No. 8. – P. 25-27.

A.T. Grechaninov (1864-1956)

Plotnikova N. With faith and prayer [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. – 2001. - No. 9. – P. 22-23. Rakhmanova M.P. A.T. Grechaninov [Text] / M.P. Rakhmanova // History of Russian music: in 10 volumes - M., 1997. - T. 10-A. – pp. 170-216.

See also No. 10,11

G.P. Dmitriev (b. 1942)

Georgy Dmitriev “I found my theme” [Text] / G. Dmitriev // Music. life. – 2000. - No. 10. – P. 9-11.

A.P. Esaulov (1800-1850)

Plotnikova N. In harmony with the big world [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. – 1999. - No. 8. – P. 22-23.

MM. Ippolitov-Ivanov (1859-1935)

Plotnikova N. Melodies of Orthodox antiquity [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. – 2003. - No. 1. – P. 21-23.

V.S. Kalinnikov (1870-1927)

Plotnikova N. A passionate worker [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. – 2001. - No. 3. – P. 17-19.

V.Yu. Kalistratov (b. 1942)

Kalistratov V. Look with a note [Text] / V. Kalistratov, A. Tevosyan // Music. academy. – 1994. - No. 4. – P. 16-22.

N.N. Karetnikov (b. 1930)

Selitsky A. “I wrote for the Lord and for myself” [Text] / A. Selitsky, N. Karetnikov // Music. academy. – 1996. - No. 3-4. – pp. 33-34.

HELL. Kastalsky (1856-1926)

Kastalsky A. About my musical career and my thoughts about church music [Text] / A. Kastalsky // Music. life. – 1991. – No. 13-14. – pp. 20-22. Zvereva S.G. HELL. Kastalsky [Text] / S.G. Zvereva // History of Russian music: in 10 volumes - M., 1887. - T. 10 A. - P. 274-306.

See also No. 10,11

V.G. Kikta (b. 1941)

Nikolaeva E. Valery Kikta: at the turn of the century [Text] / E. Nikolaeva // Music. academy. – 2001. - No. 4. – P. 42-48. Nikolaeva E. Liturgical frescoes of Valery Kikta [Text] / E. Nikolaeva // Musical education. – 2004. - No. 1. – P. 41-44. Tevosyan A. The story of one dedication [Text] / A. Tevosyan // Music. academy. – 1997. - No. 1. – P. 48-51.

A.I. Kiselev (b. 1948)

Manorov O. Renewing traditions [Text] / O. Manorov // Music and time. – 2003. - No. 4. – P. 12.

N.S. Klenovsky (1853-1915)

Plotnikova N. In accordance with the ancient chant [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. – 2002. - No. 3. – P. 22-23.

M.G. Kollontai (b. 1952)

Ivanova I. Afterword to one premiere (Agnus Dei) by M. Kollontay [Text] /I.Ivanov// Music. academy. – 2003. - No. 2. – P. 35-39. Stepanova I. M. Kollontai. Creativity – a path of knowledge or a yoke? [Text] / I. Stepanova // Music. academy. – 1995. - No. 1. – P. 20-26.

N.I. Sociable (1848-1910)

Plotnikova N. Musical worker [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. – 2000. - No. 7. – P. 22-23.

A.A. Kopylov (1854-1911)

Plotnikova N. Sincerely loved his art [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. – 2001. - No. 8. – P. 24-25.

A.F. Lviv (1798-1870)

Plotnikova N. From the depths of the soul [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. – 2001. – No. 5. – P. 20-22. Zolotnitskaya L. Musician from the imperial family [Text] / L. Zolotnitskaya // Music. life. – 1994. – No. 11-12. – pp. 37-39.

A.K. Lyadov (1855-1914)

Plotnikova N. The goodness and beauty of church chanting [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. – 2003. - No. 9. – P. 21-23.

IN AND. Martynov (b. 1946)

Grachev V. About “pious minimalism” in the work of Vladimir Martynov [Text] / V. Grachev // Music. academy. – 2004. - No. 1. – P. 12-19.

See also No. 1.11

M.P. Mussorgsky (1839-1881)

Golovinsky G. Mussorgsky and the Old Russian singing tradition: experience of practical development of the problem [Text] / G. Golovinsky, A. Konotop // Music. academy. – 1993. - No. 1. – P. 203-206. Shcherbakova P. “Life, wherever it may affect...”: The liturgical element in the work of Mussorgsky [Text] / P. Shcherbakova // Music. academy. – 1999. - No. 2. – P. 127-131.

See also No. 12

A.A. Olenin (1865-1944)

Plotnikova N. So that music enters the soul [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. – 2000. - No. 9. – P. 25-28.

S.V. Panchenko (1867-1937)

Plotnikova N. Musician, philosopher, prophet [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. – 2000.- No. 3. – P. 24-25.

N.M. Potulov (1810-1873)

Plotnikova N. In a strict style [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. – 2002. - No. 12. – P. 20-21.

S.V. Rachmaninov (1873-1943)

Bobrov V. The heights of musical Orthodoxy [Text] /V. Bobrov// Music. life. – 1998. - No. 12. – P. 27-29. Kandinsky A. “All-Night Vigil” by Rachmaninov and Russian art of the turn of the century [Text] / A. Kandinsky // Sov. music. – 1991. - No. 5. – P. 4-7; No. 7. – pp. 91-97. Kandinsky A. Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom [Text] / A. Kandinsky // Music. academy. – 1993. - No. 3. – P. 148-156. Rubtsova V. In the context of the “Silver Age” [Text] / V. Rubtsov // Music. academy. – 2003. - No. 3. – p. 175-178. Chernushenko V. Come, let us worship “All Night Vigil” S.V. Rachmaninov [Text] / V. Chernushenko // Music. life. – 1988. - No. 24. – P. 20-22.

See also No. 5,10,11

ON THE. Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908)

Plotnikova N. The soul is submissive to sound [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. – 1998. - No. 4. – P. 25-26.

IN AND. Rubin (b. 1924)

Rubin V. We must follow what is inherent in us by nature [Text] /V.Rubin// Music. academy. – 2004. - No. 4. – P. 4-8. Rubin V. “My Rus', my life, shall we suffer together?..” [Text] / V. Rubin, A. Tevosyan // Music. academy. - 1995. - No. 1. – P. 26-36. Tevosyan A. “Song of Ascension” [Text] / A. Tevosyan // Music. academy. – 1999. - No. 4. – P. 15-22.

A.G. Rubinstein (1829-1894)

Gruzintseva N. “Christ” - spiritual opera by Anton Rubinstein [Text] / N. Gruzintseva // Music and time. – 2001. - No. 6. – P. 22-30. Serebryakova L. Anton Rubinstein: to the mythology of fate [Text] / L. Serebryakova // Music. academy. – 2000. - No. 4. – P. 158-163.

G.I. Ryutov (1873-1938)

Plotnikova N. Heavenly melodies [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. – 2003. – No. 2. – P. 28-29.

G.V. Sviridov (1915-1998)

Sviridov G. From various recordings [Text] /G.Sviridov// Music. academy. – 2000. - No. 4. – P. 20-30. Paisov Yu. Innovative features of Sviridov’s choral style [Text] /Yu. Paisov // The musical world of Georgy Sviridov. – M., 1990. – P. 199-216. Polyakova L. Ineffable miracle [Text] / L. Polyakova // Music. academy. – 1993. - No. 4. – P. 3-6. Polyakova L. Sviridov as a composer of the 20th century [Text] /L.Polyakova// The musical world of Georgy Sviridov. – M., 1990. – P. 40-45. Listening to the music of the future [Text] // Meeting. – 2001. - No. 12. – P. 43-48.

See also No. 11

N.N. Sidelnikov (1930-1992)

Wreath for Sidelnikov [Text] // Music. academy. – 2001. - No. 1. – P. 106-119.

S.V. Smolensky (1848-1909)

Celebrating the 150th anniversary of the birth of S. Smolensky [Text] // Music. academy. – 1998. - No. 2. – P. 153-168.

See also No. 5

S.I. Taneyev (1856-1915)

Plotnikova N. Space for artistic exploration [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. - 1999. - No. 7. - P. 21-23. Protopopov V. World of ideals S.I. Taneyev “After reading the psalm” [Text] / V. Protopopov // Music. academy. – 2004. - No. 1. – P. 147-152.

See also No. 37

S.Z. Trubachev (1919-1995)

Gulyanitskaya N. “Russia - rise up!” (music by Sergei Trubachev) [Text] / N. Gulyanitskaya // Music. academy. – 1999. - No. 3. – P. 76-82.

P.I. Turchaninov (1779-1856)

Plotnikova N. Humble Archpriest [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. – 2000. - No. 5-6. – pp. 25-27.

V.A. Uspensky (b. 1939)

Entelis N. The path of doubt is long, faith is hard to find (Choral triptych by V. Uspensky) [Text] / N. Etelis // Music. academy. – 1995. - No. 4-5. – pp. 34-37.

P.I. Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

Anchugova A. Music for all times [Text] / A. Anchugova // Meeting. – 2003. - No. 12. – P. 37-40. Plotnikova N. I’ll work for church music [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. – 2000. - No. 1. – P. 31-33. Chernushenko V. “I Believe” (About Tchaikovsky’s Liturgy) [Text] /V. Chernushenko// Music. life. – 1988. - No. 21. – P. 19-20.

See also No. 5

N.N. Tcherepnin (1873-1945)

Keldysh Yu.V. N.N. Cherepnin [Text] / Yu.V. Keldysh // History of Russian music: in 10 volumes - M., 1997. - T. 10 A. - P. 235-243.

See also No. 10

P.G. Chesnokov (1877-1944)

Plotnikova N. Prayer wings of music [Text] / N. Plotnikova // Meeting. – 2001. - No. 2. – P. 19-21. Celebrating the 120th anniversary of the birth of P. Chesnokov [Text] // Music. academy. – 1998. - No. 2. – P. 168-180.

See also No. 10,11

A.G. Schnittke (1934-1998)

Conversations with Alfred Schnittke [Text] /comp. A. Ivashkin. – M.: RIK Culture, 1994. – 304 p. Voblikova A. Liturgical symphonies of A. Schnittke in the context of the relationship between cult and culture [Text] / A. Voblikova // Music. academy. – 1994. - No. 5. – P. 37-41. Kholopova A. Listening to Alfred Schnittke today [Text] / A. Kholopova // Music. academy. – 1995. - No. 2. P. 28-32.

R.K. Shchedrin (b. 1932)

Paisov Yu. Choir in the works of Rodion Shchedrin [Text] / Yu. Paisov. – M.: Composer, 1992. – 236 p.

Document

Music has always been and remains one of the important means of communication in the life of mankind. And, above all, already at the earliest stages of human development, sounds played a sacred, liturgical role; from the very beginning, music served a higher principle.

Educational and methodological manual for full-time students studying in specialty 0

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MUNICIPAL EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION

SECONDARY SCHOOL No. 5

“It’s like the inside of a cathedral -

The expanse of earth, and through the window

Sometimes it’s given to me to hear.”

B.L.Pasternak

REGIONAL COMPETITION OF CREATIVE WORKS OF STUDENTS “ETERNAL WORD”

Abstract on music

“Sacred music in the works of Russian composers D.S. Bortnyansky, P.I. Tchaikovsky,

S.V. Rachmaninov"

Leader: Completed by: Music teacher, 7th grade student

Gurina Veronika Anatolyevna Milovanova Natalya

Svetly

1. Introduction. - 3

2. Sacred and church music in the works of D.S. Bortnyansky. - 4

3. Spiritual and church music in the works of P.I. Tchaikovsky. - 5

4. Spiritual and church music in the works of S.V. Rachmaninov. – 7

5. Conclusion. - 8

Introduction

Over the millennium of Christianity in Rus', the Orthodox Church has accumulated vast experience in singing , since the power of impact of the human voice cannot be surpassed by any musical instrument. Through the centuries, chants of amazing beauty have reached us; they are striking in their diversity, sophistication and completeness of melody.

The art of church singing has been very close to Russian people for many centuries. Orthodox prayers were sung not only in churches and monasteries, but also at home. Church singing accompanied the entire life of an Orthodox person in Rus'. Each great church holiday had its own musical flavor. Many chants were performed only once a year, on a certain day. Very special chants sounded during Lent - they created a repentant mood, and on Easter every church was filled with solemn and jubilant Sunday chants.

In my work, I set myself the goal of showing the richness of the Russian spiritual musical heritage using the example of the work of composers D.S. Bortnyansky, P.I. Tchaikovsky, S.V. Rachmaninov.

The following tasks will help me achieve this goal:

Acquaintance with the spiritual and church culture of the Russian people;

Acquaintance with innovations in church choral music by composers;

Introduction to the genres of church and sacred music;

Reflect the mood, depth of experience, the subtlest shades of the emotional state of composers.

Bortnyansky Dmitry Stepanovich

The development of Russian sacred music followed complex and ambiguous paths; it absorbed much from world musical culture - Polish, Italian, etc. However, in the 18th century there was a turn to the most ancient Russian chants. This played a huge role in the work of many Russian composers, in particular, such global geniuses as D.S. Bortnyansky, P.I. Tchaikovsky and S.V. Rachmaninov. Russian musical culture has developed a new style and new musical and choral forms. One of the genres, quite new in form, but organically included in the Orthodox cultural tradition, was the spiritual concert. The names of the above-mentioned composers are associated with the genre of spiritual concert.

As you know, the favorite book of prayers in Rus' has always been the Psalter. The prayer poetry of King David could give expression to any feelings - joy and sadness, sorrow and jubilation. Already in the 17th century, the poet Simeon of Polotsk made a poetic arrangement of the Psalter, which was soon set to music and used outside the church, in home use. In the 18th century, composers wrote spiritual concerts primarily based on the words of psalms. The author usually did not take the entire psalm, but only some phrases-verses from the psalm, based on his plan.

The composer who brought universal recognition to this genre was Dmitry Stepanovich Bortnyansky, the author of more than a hundred spiritual concerts. D.S. Bortnyansky also worked very successfully in secular genres, but it is his spiritual concerts that are recognized as the pinnacle of the composer’s creativity.

The spiritual choral concert provided great scope for personal creativity. A much more difficult creative task was creating music for chants included in the strict liturgical canon. Knowing human voices well, Bortnyansky always wrote easily and achieved excellent sonority. But the rich sound side of his chants does not serve his purpose and does not obscure their prayerful mood. That is why many of Bortnyansky’s compositions are eagerly sung even now, touching those who pray.

He was the first to experience the harmonization of ancient church melodies, set out in monophony in books of church songs published for the first time by the Holy Synod in 1772. Bortnyansky has few of these harmonizations: irmos “Helper and Patron”, “Virgin today”, “Come, let us please Joseph” and some others. In these transcriptions, Bortnyansky only approximately preserved the character of church melodies, giving them a uniform size, placing them within the framework of European tonalities of major and minor, which sometimes required changing the melodies themselves, and introduced chords into the harmonization that were not characteristic of the so-called church modes of melodies.

Sacred music in the composer’s work

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich

The great Russian composers of the 19th and early 20th centuries attended church services, and church singing often evoked a creative response and inspiration in them. M.A. tried his hand at church songwriting. Balakirev, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, A.K. Lyadov, M.M. Ippolitov-Ivanov and many other outstanding Russian composers. Individual chants from the main Orthodox service - the Liturgy - were written by D.S. Bortnyansky, M.I. Glinka, A.A. Alyabyev and others. But it was P.I. Tchaikovsky undertook the effort to create a complete, complete musical composition, covering all the chants that make up the Liturgy.

Tchaikovsky was driven by the desire to bring his contemporary author's church singing creativity into conformity with the ancient traditions of Russian church singing culture. In one of his letters, he wrote: “I want to try to do something for church music (in this regard, the composer has a huge and still barely touched field of activity). I recognize some merits of Bortnyansky, Berezovsky and others, but to what extent their music is in little harmony with the Byzantine style of architecture and icons, with the entire structure of the Orthodox service!

This desire resulted in two monumental works - “Liturgy” and “All-Night Vigil”. Tchaikovsky wanted to create compositions that were essentially ecclesiastical in nature, which would be connected both by their structure and traditional sound with Orthodox worship.

P.I. Tchaikovsky also turned directly to ancient Russian music. In the “Vespers” he wrote, many chants are a harmonization of the melodies of different chants. In one of his “Cherubim Songs,” which the composer treasured most of all, he, in his words, “tried to imitate non-notated church singing,” that is, ancient singing, written in a “banner.” Tchaikovsky’s “Liturgy” and “Vespers” are similar to thesis and antithesis, and the cycle “Nine Spiritual Musical Compositions” became the synthesis and pinnacle of Pyotr Ilyich’s church music.

The composer's pen includes the “Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom", "All-Night Vigil", cycle "Nine Spiritual Musical Compositions", Hymn in Honor of Cyril and Methodius. Gaps of only a few years separate Tchaikovsky's church works from each other, but the semantic distances between them are much wider. This is especially true for the “Liturgy” and the “All-Night Vigil.” The difference between them was quite accurately defined by the composer himself: “In the Liturgy, I completely submitted to my own artistic impulse. The Vigil will be an attempt to return to our church its property that was forcibly taken from it. I am not an independent artist in it at all, but only a translator of ancient tunes.” Tchaikovsky became interested in the history of church singing, began studying customs and regulations, listened to and compared singing in the Lavra and other monasteries and churches in Kyiv.

Complex, ambiguous and, despite all the “buts,” a beautiful phenomenon, Tchaikovsky’s sacred music appears in the context of Russian culture.

Sacred music in the composer’s work

Rachmaninov Sergei Vasilievich

S.V. also paid great attention to church music. Rachmaninov.

Rachmaninov also studied Tchaikovsky’s “Liturgy” as a model. However, unlike Kastalsky, in “Liturgy” Rachmaninov did not take directly ancient chants as a basis. In line with the stricter church singing tradition, Rachmaninov performed in his “All-Night Vigil,” which he wrote five years after the “Liturgy.”

Rachmaninov was one of the few who set his artistic task to recreate the spiritual musical culture of ancient Rus' at a new level, and again clothe the divine service in the fabric of znamenny chants. After all, Znamenny singing is not only a homophonic form of music written in signs, but also, first of all, the spiritual musical culture of ancient Rus', inherited from the osmophony of John of Damascus-Octoechos.

Even during Rachmaninov’s lifetime, a number of cases were known when his music brought healing. It has spiritual richness, extraordinary majesty, colorfulness, tenderness and dreaminess. She tells the world about God and about the beautiful Holy Rus' that loves Him, singing His glory with its unique bell voice... About Russia, whose endless expanses are decorated with majestic churches filled with miraculous icons, sublime prayers and spiritual chants... Almost no one remembers such Russia anymore and does not knows, but little Seryozha Rachmaninov knew Her like that...

In the summer of 1990, returning to Russia from America, he wrote the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. While working on the Liturgy, the composer more than once turned to the authoritative master of church music Alexander Kastalsky. Thus, Rachmaninov’s first attempt to again clothe church prayer in the fabric of ancient Russian famous chants did not meet with sympathy. But it served as a preparatory step for the creation five years later of an even more majestic “All-Night Vigil”, which served as a symbolic completion of the Russian period of the great artist’s work, and which became his testament to Russia, which was plunging into darkness. And, perhaps, in confirmation of his thoughts about the need to return the liturgical regulations to Russian Znamenny music, and about its deep connection with the legacy of the Osmoglasy, Rachmaninov again stands at the conductor's stand of the Bolshoi Theater to unforgettably perform the cantata of his teacher S.I. Taneyev "John of Damascus".

Conclusion.

Music has always been and remains one of the important means of communication in the life of mankind. And, above all, already at the earliest stages of human development, sounds played a sacred, liturgical role; from the very beginning, music served a higher principle. With the help of singing, melody, and harmonic consonances, people are given the gift of expressing and understanding the most hidden aspirations, innermost impulses, reverence and love, something that cannot be expressed in any words. The spirit of the Russian people, the basis of its cultural existence, was created by the Orthodox worldview.

The entire wealth of sacred music, unfortunately, remains “closed” for many, even specialists. In everyday modern practice, in Orthodox churches, only late spiritual music is played, and even then it is often not the best samples, limited to the framework of church everyday life. Therefore, many people, hearing singing in church, perceive it as something deeply alien to the Russian Orthodox tradition, and the idea that the singing that they are accustomed to hearing in church now was formed under the influence of Western European Catholic music seems simply blasphemous to many.

The revival of parishes and monasteries, the lifting of unspoken bans on the participation of secular singers in church singing, the publication of gramophone records and cassettes with church chants, experiments in restoring ancient Russian melodies - all this led to the fact that, of all types of church art, church singing received greatest development.